Main menu

IndyCar: Interesting rookie lineup released

Despite never driving in an Indy race before, Formula One vet Rubens Barrichello will not be considered a rookie for this season's Indy schedule. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The Izod IndyCar Series has set its rookie lineup for the season that begins with Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and it's interesting.

Rubens Barrichello, the former Formula One driver who has never raced an Indy car, is not a rookie, but Simon Pagenaud—who ran a season of Champ Car and has competed in three IndyCar events—is.

Katherine Legge, who competed in two full Champ Car seasons, also is classified as a rookie alongside Josef Newgarden who, as last year's Firestone Indy Lights champion, truly is a rookie in IndyCar, but he has won three oval-track events.

Legge said she is fine with being a rookie. Pagenaud is too, although he conceded that he doesn't feel like one.

“Not really,” he said. “But yes on the ovals.”

The rookie tag was given by new race director Beaux Barfield, who decided 19 years and 325 starts in F1 made Barrichello a veteran.

All of the aforementioned will be considered rookies in the Indianapolis 500 along with Luca Fillippi, last year's GP2 runner-up who has signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to begin his IndyCar season in May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Among Legge's 28 Champ Car starts is the 2006 oval race at Milwaukee. She finished sixth and led 12 laps for PKV Racing. Her new Dragon Racing teammate, Sébastien Bourdais, won the race with Justin Wilson second, Oriol Servia fifth, Will Power 11th and Paul Tracy 16th.

Champ Car did not have an oval race in the 2007 season that included Pagenaud (14 races) and Legge. Pagenaud, a sports-car standout, has never competed on an oval. Neither has Barrichello.

Ironically, Newgarden has the most oval-track experience of the bunch. Indy Lights had six oval races last season, and Newgarden won three of them: Indianapolis, Iowa and New Hampshire. He also finished second twice, at Milwaukee and Kentucky.